Is this real?

Chapter 7

Merlin and Arthur exited the cave, still hand in hand. It had felt natural in the cave but in the bright midday sun the intimacy brought a blush to both faces and they reluctantly separated. Arthur's hand felt cold and empty without Merlin's in it. He ignored the feeling - something he had been doing a lot lately - and went to fetch the horses. Merlin waited by the cave entrance, pretending to be fascinated by his boots as he silently willed his heartbeat to slow.

"Here," said Arthur, handing Merlin his horse's reins, "we'd better get going. We should get home sometime tomorrow afternoon and then we can get you back to normal." Merlin opened his mouth to reply but Arthur had already turned to mount his horse. Merlin frowned briefly, then smiled to himself and followed suit.

They quickly fell into their old routine, the casual back and forth flowing freely as the afternoon passed. No one ever insulted Arthur the way Merlin did - no one else could get away with it - but it allowed Arthur the freedom to be himself. That was what he liked about being around Merlin so much; they weren't Prince Arthur and his manservant. They were just two friends, enjoying each other's company. He couldn't help but smile. Merlin laughed: "What are you grinning like that for, dollop head?"

Arthur grin widened before he replaced it with mock anger. "How dare you talk to your king like that? You know, Merlin, it's like you want me to put you in the stocks again!"

"Sure, let's see how well you cope without me, then! You do realise you'd actually have to dress yourself with me in the stocks?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Merlin. You do realise I am the king. Most servants would be desperate for the honour of being my manservant."

"That's because most servants don't know you!" Merlin countered, laughing again. Arthur joined him, feeling truly at ease. A moment later that feeling was shattered when they were surrounded by glinting steel and violent eyes. Arthur cursed himself - he had been so focused on Merlin he had failed to notice the group of bandits closing in around them until it was too late. He gripped the solid hilt of his sword, unsheathing it ready for the coming attack. He shot a glance at Merlin who had thankfully drawn his own sword, looking nervous but determined.

He turned back to meet the first assailant head on, swords clashing together harshly. He took advantage of his position on horseback and sent the bandit flying with a well placed boot to his chest. Without a moment's pause he turned to the next, parrying his blow and darting in to thrust his sword between his ribs. Hands grasped at his back, pulling him from his horse. He fell heavily, rolling and springing to his feet with practiced ease. Before he could find the man who had dragged him down he heard a cry and saw the nearest bandit had fallen victim to an incredibly fortunately timed falling tree branch. A lull in the battle followed and Arthur's eyes flew to Merlin, praying he would have somehow continued his streak of miraculously surviving dangerous situations completely unharmed. He was greeted by an out of breath but seemingly intact Merlin who, noticing his concern, shot him a quick grin. Arthur felt himself beginning to relax.

Merlin could feel the tension draining from his own body, his white knuckled grip on his sword loosening. Then he saw as Arthur's gaze flicked to something behind him and his expression shifted, panic twisting his features as he began to sprint in his direction. "Merlin, behind you!" Merlin turned, fumbling with his sword, to see another bandit had snuck up on him. He began to raise his sword to meet him, but the man was faster. Merlin's blood pounded in his ears. He could see the tip of the sword drawing closer, could almost feel the cold steel piercing his flesh. He closed his eyes. There was nothing to do without using his magic, and he couldn't risk it in front of Arthur.

A fierce yell made his eyes fly open again. There was no pain, no wound. Confused, it took him a moment to see why. Arthur had reached him - not fast enough to stop the blow, but just in time to take it himself. Merlin's eyes widened, ice-cold fear flooding him at the sight of blood pouring from Arthur's shoulder. Arthur barely seemed to have noticed his injury; in one smooth motion he brought up his sword and, as his opponent's blade left his own flesh, ran the bandit through.

"Arthur!" Merlin came forward, his hands flying to Arthur's wound. Arthur turned to him. All Merlin could see on his face was fear and concern, none of it for his own wellbeing.

"Are you OK, Merlin?" he asked. Merlin thought he might cry from the worry in Arthur's voice.

"I'm fine, it's you you should be worried about!" He gently pushed Arthur to sit. His training from Gaius kicked in as he addressed the wound and he felt a rush of gratefulness for his mentor's insistence on his studying. It would need stitching but appeared clean, thankfully. "Wait here," he instructed him and went to fetch the basic medical supplies he had packed. He rinsed the blood from his shoulder with water from a canteen and, with apologetic eyes, prepared a needle and thread and began to sew it closed. He winced slightly with every stitch, guilt at his own carelessness stilling his tongue.

"Did I see you close your eyes there?" Arthur asked dryly. Merlin's eyes shot up, surprised Arthur had noticed in the heat of the moment. "Generally not a brilliant idea in the middle of a battle, idiot," he continued.

Merlin tried to grin and come up with some witty retort, but his shame weighed too heavily. "I'm sorry," was all he could find to say. He couldn't meet Arthur's eyes.

"Hey. Merlin, look at me." Merlin hesitantly looked up. "It's OK. I'm OK. I shouldn't have distracted you; besides, I think I still owed you one after the Lady Mair incident." He reached over, giving Merlin a playful punch with his good arm.

"Guess we're even now, then," Merlin replied, a small smile finding its way to his face. It would take more than that for the guilt to disappear but at least Arthur didn't seem to blame him. He finished his work quickly, bandaging the wound up. "That'll do, I guess."

"Good. Thank you, Merlin. Guess there is something you can do right!" Arthur quipped. Merlin chuckled softly. "Come on, we have a few hours of daylight left. We should keep going." They headed back to the horses, both of which had enough experience of battle to have stayed roughly where they were left, and mounted, continuing their journey at a slower pace. Merlin could see Arthur wincing slightly when he was jostled too much and made a mental note to add a pain remedy to his emergency medical kit.

They made camp as the sun began to sink. Merlin sat Arthur down on the ground immediately and set about starting a fire to keep him warm while he prepared them some food. He chattered aimlessly as he worked, both out of habit and to ensure Arthur was still with him. After they had eaten and Merlin had washed up, he came over to Arthur. "Right, let me have a look at how that shoulder's doing. Shirt off."